Menendez wants Pompeo to brief Foreign Relations Committee on Russian hack

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-North Bergen) wants Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to brief the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about a massive Russian-backed cyberattack that breached the systems of the State Department and at least six other federal agencies.

“It is critical that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee receive a briefing on the extent of the security breach and the efforts that the Department is taking to mitigate its impacts and defend against future attacks,” Menendez said. “Furthermore, it is essential that critical sectors within private industry and the American public more broadly understand the nature of the threat that our nation faces from the Kremlin, and their persistent exploitation of cyberspace, the Internet, and social media for their malign ends.”

In addition to federal agencies, the hack, which President Donald trump denied was backed by the Kremlin despite Pompeo’s public statements to the contrary, targeted a number of prominent tech, financial and power companies, along with hospital systems and universities.

Menendez, the Foreign Relations Committee’s ranking Democrat, wants State to tell the committee about the scope of the intrusion and various actions taken to guard against future such attacks, among other things.

“I know you share my concerns about the potential for damage that this attack presents to our nation and to the Department of State,” he said. “I look forward to working with you to arrange for a briefing and a fuller discussion of these issues.”